The following post is contributed by Kathy Pickett, Pastor of Congregational Life at Holmeswood Baptist Church in Kansas City, Missouri. This past August at the Movement Leadership Team (MLT) meeting, those gathered were asked to write “One Sentence Sermons.” Kathy reflects on her sermon below.

Twenty-first century communities of faith need to make room for messy, questioning, doubting, faith and disbelief. Jesus did a nice job of this with his well-known friend, doubting Thomas. My one sentence sermon encourages communities of faith to do the same.

Thomas lived in the midst of a huge transformational shift in society and on the cutting edge of the Christian faith. We find ourselves living in a very similar time surrounded by questioning, doubting individuals who want to explore and experience their faith, without receiving dogmatic answers. In most of the couples I have married over the past five years, one of the two fits Thomas’ profile. He or she can voice a deep sense of spirituality, but his or her attempts to explore their faith any further in Christian communities have been stifled by congregations who seem to have all the right answers.

When we welcome and invite doubt, making room for questions, while encouraging openness, honesty and permission to disagree, we grow in our faith as well. It is not necessary to provide all the answers, or try to fix folks with challenging questions. Instead we should be interested in them, listen to them, respect where they are coming from, and if possible provide them with a hands-on experience they can stick their fingers in.